The Toms River native was after the respect that would come from defeating a decorated mixed martial artist, not to mention the Ultimate Fighting Championship's 155-pound belt that Penn wore at that time.

Now it's Penn that's chasing Edgar four years later.

There's no title to be won. Penn is just chasing redemption.

"I believe everyone out there would want to have another shot at someone that beat them," Penn said earlier this week. "I think that's human nature."

The two MMA veterans meet again Sunday in the main event of "The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale" live broadcast on FOX Sports 1. The main card is live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas at 9 p.m. and the preliminary card airs at 7 p.m.

While Edgar's role has been reversed, his approach is unchanged.

"When you want to avenge a loss, you want to win really bad," he said. "And when you want to make sure you don't get avenged, you want to win just as bad."

For fans of Edgar, Sunday represents the first time they've been able to see the former Toms River East wrestling standout fight live on cable television in more than four years. He submitted Matt Veach on the "Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale" on Dec. 5, 2009, in the contest that helped earn Edgar the title shot against Penn at UFC 112 on April 10, 2010.

He defeated Penn by unanimous decision, capturing the 155-pound crown, cementing his status as a top star in the lightweight division and ensuring most of his fights from that point on would be on pay-per-view — as has been the case for his last eight bouts.

Two of those pay-per-view clashes were against Penn — Edgar's title win at UFC 112 and then his even-more-emphatic victory in the championship rematch at UFC 118 on Aug. 28, 2010.

"They were both rewarding, but I guess the second time was a little reassuring because everyone thought the first time was a fluke and I was able to get it done a second time," Edgar said.

While all his attention will be on securing a third victory over "The Prodigy" — this time in the 145-pound featherweight division — the card is filled with fighters with a direct relation to Edgar. As the finale for the "The Ultimate Fighter" reality competition, two Season 19 winners will be crowned Sunday when Corey Anderson and Matt Van Buren fight at 205 pounds and Dhiego Lima and Eddie Gordon clash at 185.

All four are vying for the six-figure UFC contracts awarded to the winner in each weight class. All four also happen to have been members of Team Edgar during this season, which pitted Edgar (15-4-1) and Penn (16-9-2) against each other as coaches of 16 fledgling fighters. It was taped last fall in Las Vegas.

"It was a lot more work than I expected," Edgar said earlier this week. "You've got to put a lot of work and time in, but I walked away with good memories and a good experience."

After the final taped episode aired on FS1 on Wednesday, the successful coach posted a picture of his team and assistants to his @FrankieEdgar Instagram account with the description: "Proud of my guys and the work they put in this season on TUF 19. It was a great time and a pleasure to work with these men along side my friends and coaches, an experience I will never forget. Now let's finish the deal this weekend!!"